Please help - 2 year old wont settle in bed

Ok, so I know 2 year olds can be hard. My DS is a text book terrible two year old. He tries so hard to communicate but sometimes just cannot get his message across which causes him to get so frustrated. DS isn't the easiest child sometimes but we manage.

My issue is bed time! I work full-time, so I am exhausted when I get home at 5.30. DS goes to daycare full-time ( I wish he didn't but the circumstances don't give me any choice ) so we get home and DS watches a movie sometimes or plays, then dinner, bath and the dreaded bed time! We have co slept since taking him off the bottle 4 months ago. Taking him off the bottle messed up his routine badly.

He will refuse to go to sleep until after 9.00pm no matter what we do, I lay with him in my bed, no sleeping until after 9, no matter what time we go in to settle. I lay with him in his bed, he will just toss and turn again, until after 9! He does have a day sleep at daycare (wont sleep for me during the day at home) but even if he doesn't have a day sleep he still will not go to bed earlier...

My issue is we need to get up before 7am, and he just doesn't want to because he has not had enough sleep. I am at my wits end. Nothing works, I take him to his bedroom, he screams for 20 minutes while I try and settle him saying come to bed for cuddle, lets read your favourite book etc, eventually he will but it will still take him at least a half hour to sleep. DF and I get absolutely no alone time because DF falls asleep usually while I am putting DS to sleep (DF works very early, so understandable).

I really am not keen on CC or any method suggested by T H. I would much rather a no cry solution. Has anyone used the no cry sleep solution for a 2 year old? Is sleep school something that could help. Any help appreciated!!!

If we lay down at 8 it is still the same story - he takes and hour to go to sleep. He starts yawning at around 7.30-8 most nights. But no he doesn't actually seem tired. If we lay down at 9, in my bed he is normally asleep pretty quickly. During the week he sleeps at daycare between 12-2 and they say he sleeps the whole 2 hours, but like I said, he wont sleep during the day at home but it makes no difference at bed time.

But he struggles to wake up at 7am which is the time he needs to for daycare/work.

It is hard having absolutely no down time during the week. I pray for just half an hour, but by the time he is asleep I am too tired to stay up as well.

My partner always talks about just biting the bullet and trying CC but I just do not feel comfortable. DS is not one to give in quickly and I fear that it would take a fair while to get him to sleep still. He is also extremely dramatic and gets himself very worked up quickly, as in red, hot, runny nose, not breathing properly....

I just cannot win, but it is taking its toll on the whole house and I am starting to get quite tired and emotional about it. Sometimes I just feel like quitting work (not an option) to make things easier for DS.

The reason we took it off him was because he was highly dependant on it... And wouldn't eat properly because he wanted his bottle instead. But I didn't even mean to stop night bottles, I was quite happy for him to have one at bed time, but when I stopped day time ones he didn't want a night one.

I know this is an old thread but just wondering if there was an update. I could have written the OP word for word.

No real update, I still worry because he doesn't get the recommended amount of sleep but he now wakes up most mornings on his own. To be honest, I've just come to grips with the fact he isn't one to go to bed early... Cutting the day sleep does help him go to bed earlier, but once he gets home he is just a terror because he is tired from having no day sleep.

One thing that does help settle him if he is being a rascal about coming to bed is the 'my baby music boxes' lullaby app on the iPhone. Has nice soft tones and he will generally fall asleep within ten minutes of it being on,if he is tired.

Please help - 2 year old wont settle in bed

Does he sleep through? My DS19 months is a PITA to get into bed but when he is he sleeps through. I'm not sure if he needs sleep training. It takes about 1 hour to get him to sleep. Maybe this is just being a toddler?

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